Mu En was actually a pretty decent old man. That was the main reason Ye Qing never felt any resistance toward him.
If it had been Yan Shaozhe instead, Ye Qing would've been far more cautious. Although both master and disciple were Spirit Masters of the Light attribute, Mu En's light felt genuine and pure, while Yan Shaozhe's felt… like a knockoff version.
And one thing had to be said—Mu En was truly generous.
At first, Ye Qing had only noticed him drinking tea and, out of curiosity, asked for a cup. After finishing it, he realized the flavor was exceptional, so he casually asked for some leaves.
Seeing how readily Mu En handed them over, Ye Qing merely assumed the tea must be expensive. He never once imagined…
…the tea was made from the tender leaves of the Golden Tree.
The Golden Tree's young leaves.
Aside from Mu En, the Master of the Sea God Pavilion, who else would dare pluck anything from the Golden Tree? Let alone harvest its leaves to make tea.
Mu En had given him several boxes without blinking. Ye Qing only learned the truth later when Old Man Ye Feng happened to see him brewing tea and instantly recognized what it was.
That discovery gave Ye Qing a tiny, tiny panic attack.
He had chosen a Dark-attribute reward—the Dark Devilgod Tiger, strengthened by Tang San, the so-called heretical god of Douluo. And now he was drinking tea brewed from the leaves of a plant so overflowing with Light attribute energy that it practically shone through reality.
Was this really okay?
Like fire and water, Light and Darkness should be fundamentally incompatible, right?
At that moment, Ye Qing was terrified.
He had just barely survived one "revival round." He didn't want to accidentally kill himself again by drinking the wrong thing.
Yet, to his surprise, not only did the Golden Tree tea cause no issues, his body actually grew healthier. Stronger. More energetic. He slept well, ate well, and never carried fatigue into the next day.
Even Mu En's examinations confirmed he was in excellent health.
Since it didn't harm him, he might as well keep drinking it. Tea made from Golden Tree leaves—most people in Douluo would never even dream of tasting something like this. Calling it a supreme heavenly treasure would be no exaggeration.
After all, this was the very source of life in Douluo Continent.
Old Man Ye Feng used plenty of precious items to temper his body, but none of them worked as effectively as a single pot of this tea. Everyone knew that development before the age of six directly affected the quality of one's martial soul upon awakening.
No matter how you looked at it, even if the attributes didn't quite match, Ye Qing could only pretend not to know.
As long as nothing went wrong after drinking it, then it must be all benefits and no drawbacks.
Light and Life were, after all, the two attributes best suited for healing. If they were only nourishing the body, there shouldn't be any attribute rejection, right?
Right?
Well, nothing bad had happened so far.
Ye Qing could clearly feel his constitution growing stronger by the day.
Only by strengthening his body further could he fully awaken the power of the Dark Devilgod Tiger at age six. This martial soul could easily be classified as a god-tier martial soul.
If his body wasn't strong enough to withstand it and it instead degraded into the Ye family's inherited Shadow Tiger…
That would be tragic comedy.
"Ah… having a martial soul that's too strong isn't always a good thing."
Ye Qing sighed at the steaming tea before blowing it cool and downing it in one gulp.
But he had overlooked one crucial fact.
Before the age of six, an unawakened martial soul wouldn't manifest attributes in the body. However, martial souls were rooted in the soul itself—and the soul was deeply bound to the body.
Any change in the body would immediately reflect upon the soul.
Especially for someone like Ye Qing, whose soul had been unstable after transmigration. His soul was far more susceptible to influence from his physical body.
After drinking Golden Tree tea for so long and living under its radiance day after day, it was inevitable that both his body and soul would begin to carry Light attributes.
And that meant one thing.
When his martial soul awakened, it would definitely mutate.
But honestly?
Even if Ye Qing knew this would happen, he would still make the same choice.
The foundation he'd inherited after transmigrating was simply too weak. Ye Feng had tried his best to build up Ye Qing's body, but the previous Ye Qing's flawed soul had limited his physical development.
If he awakened his martial soul in that state, there was no way his body could withstand the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
If it merely degraded, that would be lucky.
If he lost control and suffered backlash from the martial soul…
He'd truly be done for.
"Sigh… I shouldn't have picked this guy just because he looked cool."
His expression grew even more troubled.
…
A few days later.
As promised, Mu En returned—this time bringing a boy around Ye Qing's age. The child had messy blue-violet short hair and a somewhat dull, withdrawn expression.
"So this is your grandson?" Ye Qing asked curiously as he looked at the boy.
"Yes, this is my grandson. His name is Bei Bei," Mu En said with a warm smile. "You two are about the same age. I believe you'll become good friends."
Mu En gently patted Bei Bei's head, his eyes filled with affection.
Just like Ye Feng, he had a troublesome younger generation to worry about. And this one was the sole remaining heir of the Bright Holy Dragon lineage. His situation mirrored Ye Qing's—both parents deceased, leaving only a single great-grandfather alive.
Even more coincidentally, Bei Bei's parents and Ye Qing's parents had died during the same mission, at the hands of the same evil Soul Douluo.
After that mission, Shrek Academy had lost track of the man. Only recently had Mu En discovered his whereabouts again. According to reports from the Inspection Group, the evil Soul Douluo was now hiding within the borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
This time, Mu En intended to act personally.
An Ultimate Douluo hunting down a Soul Douluo—not for justice, but for vengeance.
Looking at the somewhat socially withdrawn child in front of him, Ye Qing quietly inhaled.
No wonder he grew up to be so cunning. He'd been a silent gourd since childhood.
This wouldn't do.
If he stayed this reserved, how was Ye Qing supposed to build a good relationship with him… and maybe, just maybe, get close enough to cling to his great-grandfather's thigh for some benefits?
"Hello, my name is Ye Qing!"